Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Will Chip Kelly feel some butterflies in his gut when he takes the field for the first time as Oregon's head coach Thursday night at Boise State? Yes. Will he feel any different than he did last year when he was the Ducks' offensive coordinator, just a season removed from coaching at New Hampshire, a FCS school?

"Not really," Kelly said.

It's possible that Kelly is merely resisting an attempt to inspire a bout of introspection from him, but it doesn't feel that way. He seems completely comfortable in his new role, and if he's overwhelmed by beginning his career with a duel between ranked teams on national television (ESPN, 10:15 p.m., ET), he's doing a bang-up job of hiding it.

Start with this. He's spent much of the week acting like an old-school head coach by firmly dousing any semblance of trash talk between the programs, which played an, er, edgy game last fall.

Boise State shocked the Ducks 37-32 in Autzen Stadium, and the game featured a couple of cheap shots from Broncos players, including a blatant late hit that knocked quarterback Jeremiah Masoli out of the game in the first quarter.

"There is no talk from our team, no talk from our coaching staff, no talk from anyone associated with Oregon about any revenge factor," Kelly said. "We lost to Boise State last year. They came in here and beat us. We don't make excuses."

There has been a little talk, though. Tight end Ed Dickson told The Oregonian this summer that the Broncos are "one of those teams that really doesn’t rub right with me.”

And then tailback LeGarrette Blount told Sports Illustrated, “We owe that team a [butt]-whuppin’.”

Even after putting the clamps down on the comments, it was hard for the Ducks to not admit they've circled this game in red for a long while.

Said Masoli: "Every game is a grudge match for us. Especially Boise."

Kelly, of course, believes none of this will matter. He sees the Broncos' outstanding execution on both sides of the ball on film and he knows that should be his team's primary concern.

The Ducks' lack of execution, particularly on defense, played a bigger role in last year's defeat than cheap shots, even the headhunting effort from safety Ellis Powers on Masoli.

Broncos quarterback Kellen Moore, then a freshman, made numerous big plays downfield when the Ducks bit on play-action fakes or were caught out of position by the Broncos' pre-play motion and activity.

"The No. 1 thing we need to focus on is where our eyes are on the defensive side of the ball and making sure we get lined up properly," Kelly said. "If you don’t get lined up properly, their shifts and motions will outnumber you on one side or another and try to take advantage of it. It’s a system that they run all the time; we’re fortunate that we’ve had a little more time to prepare for it this time because it is the opening game of the year. But it will really be a key, us being able to get aligned and be in the right spots before the ball is snapped.”

Kelly called the precocious Moore, "one of the top quarterbacks in the country," and more seasoning should make Moore far better this fall. The Broncos are replacing their top two receivers from last year, but Austin Pettis led the team with nine touchdown receptions, so he doesn't lack targets.

Meanwhile, the Ducks' offense -- Kelly is still calling plays -- will be revealing Masoli and Blount 2.0, with both on the cusp of becoming national figures.

The matchup of the game figures to be the Ducks' rebuilt offensive line vs. the Broncos' rebuilt front seven. The winner there might be able to control the game's tempo, something both teams focus on.

As for Kelly's debut: It's about winning, not revenge.

Well, maybe a little revenge.